Fiscal Year 2008 Budget

BUSH PROPOSES STEEP CUT TO PBS FUNDING
[SOURCE: TVWeek, AUTHOR: Ira Teinowitz]
President Bush is reopening the fight over government support of public television, unveiling a budget that would cut federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting by nearly 25 percent. There was some confusion on how to tally the exact cut, but public TV and congressional sources said at least $114 million of the $460 million CPB budget for the fiscal year that starts in October would be cut. The Association of Public Television Stations said the total impact could be $145 million when cuts in related programs are added, including a program to upgrade radio station satellite facilities. A CPB analysis of the budget said the cuts include the $50 million already appropriated by Congress for next year, elimination of additional funding for digital conversion of public TV stations and a slight decrease in the Ready to Learn program. In addition to the cuts, the traditional advance funding for future years' programs would disappear, potentially making it harder for public stations to commit to future TV programming. A spokeswoman for PBS said that the cuts would be "disastrous" for public TV stations.
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=11508
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* Reaction from Rep Ed Markey (D-MA)
Rep. Markey said of the cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, “In a 24-7 television world with content often inappropriate for young children, the public broadcasting system represents an oasis of quality, child-oriented educational programming. We owe America’s children and their parents this free, over-the-air resource."
http://markey.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2587&I...

Fore more see --
* Press Briefing by OMB Director Rob Portman on the President's
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/02/20070205-3.html
* Bush seeks more war funding
President Bush asked Congress to approve defense spending of $622 billion -- much of it for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- as he unveiled a $2.9 trillion budget request for the 2008 fiscal year.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2007...
* Bush budget plans cuts to education, other grants
http://today.reuters.com/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID...

BUSH SEEKS SPENDING INCREASES IN RESEARCH, SURVEILLANCE
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Anne Broache]
President Bush's proposed $2.9 trillion budget for next year calls for increases in some scientific research funding, along with boosts for counterterrorism surveillance and screening programs. The president's plan includes beefing up spending for his American Competitiveness Initiative, which aims to ensure that the United States keeps up with its global competitors in the science and technology realm. Under the proposed budget, the National Science Foundation would receive $6.4 billion in funding, a 6.8 percent boost from last year. Of that amount, about $5.1 billion would go to "research and related activities," which in the past "has contributed to the development of the Internet and Internet search engines, fiber optics, color plasma displays, magnetic resonance imaging, and other advances that now help each of us in our daily lives," according to the president's budget breakdown for that agency. That number includes $390 million -- an increase of 4.5 percent from last year -- for NSF's nanotechnology research arm, and $994 million -- a 10 percent boost -- for its Networking and Information Technology Research and Development program. Some tech-centric agencies could experience cuts. The National Institute of Standards and Technology, for instance, saw an increase in budget levels for its core research activities. But its Advanced Technology Program, which is designed to explore "unproven, early stage technologies," appears to be on the way out. Its proposed funding plummeted from about $79 billion this year to zero dollars for the next fiscal year. NIST representatives did not respond immediately to requests for clarification.
http://news.com.com/Bush+proposes+spending+hikes+for+research%2C+surveil...

BUSH'S BUDGET: $313M FOR FCC, FUNDING FOR DTV CAMPAIGN
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Under President Bush's proposed FY 2008 budget, the Federal Communications Commission would receive $313 million. Under the new budget plan, all but $1 million in FCC funding would come from fees assessed against regulated entities. The FCC’s current budget, adopted for FY 2006, is frozen at $289.8 million until Congress resolves disputes that prevented passage of a FY 2007 budget. The FCC has asked Congress for $1.5 million for a DTV education campaign. The FCC says it plans to produce PSA's, Web material and publications. It also plans to participate in forums and to work with the National Association of Broadcasters and the Association of Public Television Stations to air the PSA's. The campaign will include expanding its "DTV Deputy" campaign educating kids about the transition by encouraging those kids to educate their parents and caregivers. The FCC plans to use the money to distribute the information to low-income and minority consumers and translate the information into Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6413571.html?display=Breaking...
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6413605.html?display=Breaking+News
* FCC news release
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-270286A1.doc

NTIA'S FY 2008 BUDGET REQUEST
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration]
A look at the budget of the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The budget of $18.6 million and 103 FTE will enable NTIA to pursue these goals. The budget does not include funds for the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program "as funds are available for these activities from other sources." This program has helped public broadcasting stations construct facilities. Goals: 1) American Competitiveness Initiative: creating a regulatory environment that fosters private sector innovation in telecommunications. 2) President’s Spectrum Policy for the 21st Century initiative -- foster economic growth; ensure national and homeland security; maintain U.S. global leadership in communications technology development and services; and satisfy other vital U.S. needs in areas such as public safety, scientific research, Federal transportation infrastructure, and law enforcement. The NTIA is responsible for the development of domestic and international telecommunications and information policy for the Executive Branch, for ensuring the efficient and effective use of the Federal radio spectrum, and for performing state-of-the-art telecommunications research, engineering, and planning.
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/budget.htm
* Fact Sheet: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/FY2008/budgetrequest2008_factsheet.pdf
* Executive Summary: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/FY2008/budgetrequest2008_summary.pdf
* As presented to Congress: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/FY2008/budgetrequest2008.pdf

* Bush Proposes Slight Boost For His Telecom Advisers
[SOURCE: Technology Daily, AUTHOR: David Hatch]
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-LYMQ1170792755749.html

BUSH BUDGET AGAIN WOULD CUT E2T2
[SOURCE: eSchool News]
For the fourth straight year, President Bush has proposed cutting the Enhancing Education Through Technology block-grant program -- the primary source of federal funding for school technology -- from the federal budget. Advocates of educational technology say the move makes little sense, given the president's stated commitment to ensuring the global competitiveness of American students. Altogether, President Bush proposes cutting 44 education programs totaling $2.2 billion -- including the $273 million that E2T2 received in 2007, as well as $35 million for arts education, $35 million for school counseling, and $60 million for enhancing teacher quality. Most of these same programs have been slated for elimination in Bush's budget plans for the past three years, but Congress each year has voted to spare them.
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryts.cfm?ArticleID=6861